McLaren Announces its 650S Le Mans Edition to Celebrate Historic Win

2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans

Back in 1995, the McLaren F1 ran away with the 24 Hours of Le Mans race with it finishing first, third, fourth, fifth, and thirteenth in the iconic endurance event. Now with the 20th anniversary of this awesome feat upon us, McLaren Special Operations is set to reveal a super-limited Le Mans edition of the 650S to commemorate the event.

A total of only 50 McLaren 650S Le Mans models will be built for the entire world, and they will all draw inspiration from the Le Mans-wining F1. The most noticeable relationship between this special 650S and the F1 is, of course, the roof-mounted snorkel intake that channels air into the 650S’ V-8 power plant.

Other bits added to the body include a set of louvers that help reduce the air pressure over the front wheels, a bare-carbon-fiber front splitter and rear bumper, MSO-developed side blades and rear diffuser, a metallic Sarthe Grey exterior hue, and a few McLaren Orange-painted bits, like the “Le Mans” logo on the door blades and the wheels.

2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans (Credit: © McLaren)

Speaking of the wheels, those measure 19 inches up front and 20 inches out back, and they are also inspired by the rollers that sat under the 1995 F1 racer. These wheels are wrapped up in McLaren-developed Michelin Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber. Peeking out from behind these rollers are front carbon-ceramic brakes clamped by McLaren Orange calipers.

Inside the cabin, the 650S Le Mans gets a heavy dose of black leather and Alcantara. Breaking up the black are the McLaren Orange-colored center inserts on the sport seats, an embossed Le Mans logo on the headrests, and unique floor mats.

2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans

Under the hood of this limited 650S is McLaren’s tried-and-true, 3.8-liter, V-8 engine that puts down 650 PS (641 horsepower) and 500 pound-feet of twist – same as the base 650S. This allows the 650S Le Mans to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in just three seconds and top out at 207 mph. Both of those performance numbers are identical to the base 650S’ numbers.

All of the details sound awesome, but now comes the kicker: the price. The 2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans will set buyers back £244,500 ($370,367). That’s a whopping £49,250 ($74,603) more than the UK pricing for the base 650S Coupe. There is no confirmation of the U.S. pricing, but the press release implies that this is the global price. That’s odd, given the U.S. pricing for the base 650S is not a direct conversion from the UK pricing.

Deliveries of the 650S Le Mans will commence in mid-2015.